


Pumpkins shouldn’t exist outside of October

by SonnetforMars



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anyways trans rights, Autumnal yearning, Crack Treated Seriously, Cuban Lance (Voltron), First fic baby, Fluff, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith is chaotic, Keith loves dogs, Korean Keith (Voltron), Kosmo is mentioned, M/M, Multichapter, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Sibling Banter, Werewolf Lance (Voltron), broganes, slow burn maybe?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25913296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonnetforMars/pseuds/SonnetforMars
Summary: Keith helps a wounded dog he finds in his backyard. It turns out it wasn’t a dog, it was a wolf. Oh, and it’s also an attractive man. Keith knew he shouldn’t have gotten a pumpkin outside of October.—“I thought you were being murdered but here you are murdering a poor, innocent vegetable.”“Actually, it’s not a vegetable it’s a fruit,” Keith states matter-of-factly, “and it’s not innocent. It’s a vile demon that needs to be exorcised and it’s covering my carpet with its liquids.”“Just for that I am no longer helping you clean this up.”“Fuck you, Shiro.”
Relationships: Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	Pumpkins shouldn’t exist outside of October

In a dark room light flashes against the blade of a knife as it swings down to meet scarred flesh. A sickening _crunch_ is heard as its blade is pressed into the hilt. 

As an artist would guide a paintbrush, the assailant drags the knife down and back up forming a curve before removing the knife completely. A pair of eyes focus on the newly gouged wound as liquid begins pouring out at a rapid pace. 

“FUCK,” they scream. 

Hurried footsteps are heard out in the hall, quickly followed by the door swinging open and a hand flicking on the lights. 

“KEITH WHAT HAPPENED WHAT’S GOING ON-“ 

“MY STUPID ASS PUMPKIN IS ROTTEN,” Keith replies, looking disheveled and manic; still holding onto the knife while rotten pumpkin juice trickles out of the the pumpkins shitty, half-finished, jack-o-lantern smirk. 

Shiro stands stunned in the doorway with his hand paused over the light switch. He takes in a deep breath before replying,

“I thought you were being murdered but here you are murdering a poor, innocent vegetable.”

“Actually, it’s not a vegetable it’s a fruit,” Keith states matter-of-factly, “and it’s not innocent. It’s a vile demon that needs to be exorcised and it’s covering my carpet with its liquids.”

“Just for that I am no longer helping you clean this up.”

“Fuck you, Shiro.”

“Why the hell were you even doing this in the dark? You look like a horror movie villain but instead of being racist and homophobic you’re being vege-ist. Fruit-ist.”

Keith shrugged, “I dunno, the darkness helped with the Halloween ambience.”

“Keith... it’s August. Where did you even find a pumpkin? I thought those weren’t ripe until October.”

“I have my ways.”

“You asked Pidge, didn’t you?”

“I can’t believe my own brother would have such little faith in me and my ability to get a pumpkin outside of the fall season that-“

“Keith.”

“Yeah fine, I asked Pidge for help.”

“Okay,” Shiro says while rubbing his eyes, “I’m gonna go back to sleep now because it is 3 am and you should be cleaning up your carpet or else your room is gonna smell like the shared dumpster of both a Bath and Body Works and Starbucks right after pumpkin flavour season ends.” 

“Yeah, yeah I’ll get on it. Now go to sleep, old man.”

“Hey! Sleeping before 3 am isn’t ‘old’ it’s called being employed.”

With that Shiro walks off towards his bedroom while Keith begins his work on trying to contain what will likely be referred to in the future as ‘ _The August Pumpkining’_. 

‘ _So much for Pidge being a super genius. I can’t believe they gave me a cursed pumpkin,_ ’ he thinks to himself. 

Keith begins the slow process of de-pumpkining his room by taking the rotten menace out to the compost bin located behind the house. Despite his wishes for the crisp fall air and crunchy golden leaves underneath his feet, all he’s greeted with when he exits his home is the sweltering heat of summer. 

‘ _If your favourite season is summer then you’re a freak,_ ” he thinks. 

With his back towards the forest that starts just beyond his property, Keith glares at the orange fruit in his hands; its leaking smile staring back at him mockingly before getting unceremoniously tossed into the compost. 

“Begone, you wretched thing,” he says while closing the compost bin tight. Just then, he hears a twig snap from somewhere behind him followed by a sharp intake of breath which comes from not only himself, but from somewhere in the forest. 

‘ _What the fuck._ ’ 

Keith feels his heart begin to speed up until its pounding fills his ear drums. He freezes in his spot in front of the compost bin and is almost certain he is in trouble. 

‘ _That pumpkin really was cursed, wasn’t it? And now the demon that created it has come to kill me and take my soul. I should’ve known ripe pumpkins existing outside of the fall season weren’t real._ ’

He slowly turns his head, daring to take a peek towards the dark forest. He searches the trees frantically, and scans them for demons. His gaze stops at a large bush where he spots a furry lump half-hidden underneath. 

Like the idiot who dies first in a horror movie, Keith walks towards the bush. The stench of blood reaches his nose before his eyes see the red on the ground. A dog's leg peeks out from under the bush. A rusty bear trap has its teeth closed on the poor thing’s ankle. 

‘ _Shit... this looks bad. Maybe I can help take it to a vet? No, those are closed right now... At least this is just a dog and not a demon out to kill me._ ’

“Heyyy... I’m Keith... Uh I’m here to help you... so like, be cool, okay?” Keith says as he leans over to look at the animal. Bent over on his elbows, he makes eye contact with some of the bluest eyes he’s ever seen. A greyish-brown dog with pointed ears and sharp canines begins to growl lowly at him. 

“Shh... it’s okay I’m not gonna hurt you...” Keith whispers to the hound. It seems to be comforted by this as the growling lessens. “I’m gonna get this thing off your leg but you gotta let me help you. So, uh, please don’t bite me,” he bargains with the canine. 

Its growling stops and a huff of air leaves the creature- though Keith swears it was snorting at him. Despite its lack of growling, it still watches him with fearful and intelligent eyes. It’s almost like it understands what he’s saying. Keith recalls vaguely that one of his neighbours has a number of large dogs, and wonders if this is one of them. 

“Okay boy, I’m gonna have to move you into the shed so I can get you bandaged up. I would bring you into the house, but Shiro sucks and won’t let me bring any more strays in since last year’s... incident.”

Keith squints his face remembering what happened last year that caused a permanent ban on stray animals from entering their home. 

_”Keith, why does the house smell like shit and piss and why is the entire main floor covered in dirt?” Shiro asks through the phone._

_“Oh. Well I found a pack of strays and decided to adopt them since they were hungry and didn’t have any collars.”_

_“... and what are you doing now?”_

_“I’m taking them on a walk- wait why does the house smell like shit? They never even went until now... well everyone except for Kosmo- maybe he’s shy about it?”_

_“That doesn’t make sense, Keith. The house definitely smells like they did something here. The odor seems to be getting stronger when I go near the staircase? I’ll go check...”_

_Shiro’s voice disappears as he makes his way upstairs and Keith is certain that he’s just imagining things. There’s no way he wouldn’t have noticed if one of the dogs shit in their house._

_“WHAT THE FUCK. KEITH. THERE’S- OH MY GOD THERE’S SHIT EVERYWHERE WHAT KIND OF DOGS DID YOU FIND THAT CAN SHIT THIS GODDAMN MUCH. IT’S ALL OVER MY FUCKING ROOM KEITH IT- ...oh my god. It’s on the CEILING. HOW DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN-“_

Keith still thinks Shiro was overreacting. Kosmo was a good boy who totally could’ve learned to be potty trained with time and totally could’ve stayed with them instead of getting adopted by some other family along with the other dogs. 

Keith kneeled down and slid his arms underneath the canine's body, “I’m going to carry you to the shed, okay boy?” He explained, already sounding winded. Only a soft whine came as a response. Doing his best not to jostle the poor thing around too much, he manages to stand up and steady himself before making the trek back towards the house. 

After fumbling around with the shed latch, Keith manages to set the pup down and start getting the medical kit kept there for emergencies. He already knows where it is since he’s the one who always needs it. After a quick search online, Keith says, 

“Okay so I’m going to take this off your leg now and hopefully this stranger on the Internet hasn’t lied to me and I’ll do it correctly the first time.”

A snarl comes from the canine as it clenches its teeth, preparing itself for what’s to come. Chewing on his lip, Keith reaches over and presses onto the springs to release the trap with a _clunk_. The wolf slips it’s paw away, dragging itself as far as it can from the torture device. 

“Told you I would help you,” Keith smiles at the animal as it stares right back dumbfounded. Keith gets to work quickly on cleaning and bandaging the wounds. He may not be a veterinarian but at least he’s got some practice doing this on himself. 

Taking some of their sleeping bags, Keith makes a sort of bed for the hound to spend the night on. “It’s not the five seasons but I’m sure it’ll do for now,” Keith mumbles, “especially since you have no fucking idea what the five seasons is.” 

Watching the creature get itself comfortable, its body finally relaxes. “I don’t know why Shiro thinks I can’t take care of pets, one shit accident and you’re barred for life,” Keith says while petting the wolf’s head. Its tail begins to brush back and forth, like it wants to wag its tail on instinct but is far too tuckered out. 

With this moment of peace Keith finally gets a good look at the animal. In the light of the shed it's revealed that its fur is actually much more red brown that he has initially realized. Its copper fur is caked with dirt, and Keith wonders how long it's been alone by itself. 

‘ _I definitely know what that’s like…_ ’ Maybe he can convince Shiro to make an exception to the no pets rule. Just this once. 

Assuming the creature had drifted off to sleep, Keith makes his way back to the house. ‘ _I definitely need a change of clothes... and maybe a shower_ ,’ he thinks, giving himself a once over. He’s tired and covered in dirt and blood but he definitely feels it was worth it. 

His sense of accomplishment and pride follows him all the way to his bedroom door before it is instantly vanished by a certain autumn scent. 

“FUCK. THE PUMPKIN-“

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading my first ever fic lmao
> 
> It was like 3 am and I thought “hey wouldn’t it be funny if someone described a pumpkin carving as a murder scene?” And then I wrote this
> 
> I will be adding more as I go.. definitely gonna let lance say at LEAST one word instead of a woof. You KNOW he has some words for Keith. Pidge will also be here soon and maybe other characters as well. We will see. Definitely more bantering is to come becuase I love it 
> 
> Bonus content aka things I didn’t include in this fic:  
> \- “It ain’t much, but it’s honest work,” Keith says to himself in his most exaggerated, Texan drawl.


End file.
